How Much Does it Cost to Travel in South Korea for 17 days: Seoul and Busan

South Korea surprised us in many ways and for Yeison’s Asia trip, it was probably one of the best countries to visit for first time Asia travelers. It was not crazy expensive, easy to get around and the food is just the best.

We spent 17 days in South Korea exploring Seoul and Busan. We had planned to travel on a moderate budget so we did a lot of research. Good thing about South Korea was that they had a large range of hotels, you could find cheap options and high end places.

Our cost of travel in South Korea turned out to be a bit more expensive than we thought though. If you’re planning on visiting South Korea, you can get a good idea of how much you’ll spend on your trip from this breakdown.

Our Itinerary

Incheon 1 day

We flew into Incheon International Airport and stayed for one night.

Airfare

We flew to South Korea from Taiwan which is not a long flight at all, it is just 2 and a half hours. We found a ticket on tripsta.com for $195 one person one way with Asiana Air. We flew from Taoyuan International Airport into Incheon International Airport.

Accommodation

We stayed at Incheon Airport Yegrina Hotel for $48 a night. If you need a place to stay near the airport, this is a great option. They have a free shuttle to and from the airport, free Wi-Fi and includes breakfast.

Seoul 11 days

Accommodation

We used AirBnB (get $20 credit here) and found a place to stay during our time in Seoul for $30 a day. I was incredibly happy with how our first experience with AirBnB turned out and highly recommend it as an alternative choice to hotels. We got to experience living like locals and enjoyed staying in a university neighborhood.

$330 + AirBnB Fees = $334 for 11 nights

Transportation

From Incheon Airport we took the subway to Seoul which cost around 8000 won. The place we stayed at was outside Seoul so we had to take a public bus to get to the city.

We spent a total of $15 together taking the bus from Daehak-dong to Seoul nearly everyday.

For the rest of our time we took the subway which was around $3.00 for two people each trip. Once you get inside the city, you can walk everywhere.

Food

Food was not as cheap as we thought it’d be.

We spent roughly $45 a day even though we ate a lot of ramen and cheap pastries. Despite staying in a college town area, meals were about the same prices in the States at $7-10 a person. I was sad to see that coffee was quite expensive at $3.50 for a small Americano (just regular black coffee) so we drank instant coffee instead.

This was hard for us to keep under budget because we wanted to try as much Korean food as possible since it is so damn tasty!

The shining light was that we found a Korean bbq all you can eat for $11!

Activities

The rest of the time we visited Insadong and Dongdaemun, went to Yeouido Park to meet up with some other Ticos and hiked Gwanaksan Mountain. All free!

Souvenirs

I spent about $75 on Korean beauty products for souvenirs. This was so hard for me to resist since I love Korean beauty products. I must have visited every one we walked by! But there are some beauty stores that sell cheap items then there are the more expensive brands.

Busan 5 days

On our travel day to Busan, we decided to first go to Yeison’s father’s grave in Youngcheon. We took the KTX from Seoul to Dongdaegu, the slow train to Youngcheon and then the slow train and subway to Busan.

We really wanted to take the KTX to experience it but it is expensive! For two people we paid $76. It is really fast though, we got to Dongdaegu in about 2 hours or so.

Accommodation

We stayed at Pusaninn Motel next to Busan Station. In the area are a lot of places to eat for a decent price open 24 hours and for a budget hotel it was a great choice for us. Free wi-fi, friendly staff, clean and had a desk in the room. Plus it’s right across the street from the subway station which made it incredibly convenient. But I have no mention that it’s right across from the Red Light District which I was stupidly unaware of when booking so it is used as a love motel.

For 5 nights we paid $214.

Food

Food in Busan ran us a tad bit cheaper at about $35 a day. There were some places around our hotel that had really cheap Korean food which we enjoyed.

Activities

We met up with Meagan, a blogger friend who took us around Busan and showed us some of her favorite spots. We did a bit of shopping, eating and sightseeing.

On our last day we visited Haedong Yonggung temple and Haeundae beach. Besides paying for the subway and bus fare which was just a few dollars, it was free.

Total expenses

Our grand total cost of travel in South Korea came out to be about $1500 for two people which is $88 a day. Not too bad considering we stayed in relatively cheap places and stuffed our faces with Korean food!

This does not include airfare.

What we loved about South Korea

Food, ease of transportation and the Wi-Fi.

Korean food is so dang delicious. When you go to Korea, make sure to eat and try as many new things as you can.

The city is very modern and did I mention again that I love their Wi-Fi? It was crazy fast!

PS. Don’t forget South Korea runs on a different voltage than the US so don’t forget your adapter. They sell them everywhere for cheap but not the best quality, the one we bought in Seoul broke the first day.

Getting around Seoul and Busan almost became second nature to us after taking the subway almost everyday. Especially with the app, we figured out how to get everywhere we wanted to go using the subway and public bus.

Tip: To take the public bus, you need to buy a bus card called T-Money and put credit on it which you can do at a convenience store. You have to scan it when you get on and off.

Tip: Download the Subway app. It tells you which lines to take to your destination, how much it costs and how long it’ll take. And you don’t need Wi-Fi to use it.

Yeison’s favorite activity? Biking the Han River and testing out the Wi-Fi connection at all the Apple stores we ran into.

What we didn’t love

As someone who grew up somewhere that said “sorry” and “excuse me” when you bump into someone, it was a shocker to be in a society where everyone ran each other over.

Although the subway is easy to use, actually riding it was like running a 50 meter sprint with too many people stuffed on the track. Everyone just pushes and shoves their way on and off!

There is also a lot of garbage in the neighborhood streets. The place we stayed near Seoul National University smelled pretty bad with food spilled over everywhere. However, the main streets in the city itself are nice and clean.

Wrap up

The cost of travel in South Korea wasn’t horrible and we did know that it was more expensive than SE Asia. I was very happy we chose to stay in Airbnb instead of a hotel because we got a more local experience and it was a really great price.

Koreans are a very interesting group of people. You could tell that they are in a transition period with their mindsets and way of thinking when it comes to traditional versus modern. Young people were much more open to talk and help us whereas the older generations shied away. Although Seoul is very modern, you can still see old temples and historical places right in the middle of a touristic area.

For first time travelers to Asia, South Korea is a great option. It’s so easy to get around, food is great and the locals are super nice! We had some great experiences with locals helping us with directions or pointing out restaurants, even though they spoke limited English.

I was surprised to see that there are a few districts in the city with a lot of foreigners but since many people go to South Korea to teach English, it makes sense. All in all, the cost to travel in South Korea is reasonable and I was really happy with how our budget turned out!

Reader Interactions

Comments

Thank you so much for this wonderful blog on your trip expenses to South Korea. I am going to visit South Korea for the first time this June and going for 3 weeks. I will be spending 2 weeks in Seoul and 1 week in Daegu. Trying to fix down on an itemized budget is an extremely difficult part of this excursion, however you have helped me immensely! I am super excited about visiting Asia for the first time, as I have already visited a few places in Europe. Japan is next!!!
Thank you once again for your amazing break down and wonderful story!
Angi

Hi Sweta, we found that the locals were pretty friendly and tried to help us even if they didn’t speak English and we don’t speak a lick of Korean. The subway system is super easy to use as they have English and Korean but a lot of the restaurants don’t have English, we just looked at the pictures.

Hi, its fun reading your guide here.
But if I wish to stay at Korea for about a month. So is 2,000,000 won enough to travel at Korea including flight, accommode, transp, food and fun? Im saving to go there.
Thanks.

They there, I just got back from Korea and I spent two months there and only spent $1500 a month. The total I spent for the full two months and plane ticket was $3700 which also included all my souvenirs.

Hi Monique,
I would love more info on your experience and expenses breakdown. My son wants me to take him for two months to South Korea and I’m worried how much that would be. I am flying out of San Francisco, CA.
Thank you!
Linda

Hi Syila, hmm if you’re using the subway to get around a couple destinations every day, it costs about $1.50 each trip but there are different rates for different routes and destinations depending on where you’re going to go. It’s hard to say, but if you estimate you’ll be spending around $5 a day for the subway, that’ll be $50. But it all depends on how many places you’re going to every day and where you are staying in Seoul.

Malaysia is a tiny bit cheaper than Taiwan, but in both places you can eat a whole meal for less than $2. In Korea we couldn’t find anything that cheap, it was at least $5 for a meal which is still pretty good, but compared to the other two, it’s definitely more expensive.

What does food cost in Taiwan and Malaysia? I think of Korea as super cheap, like sometimes I can’t believe how cheap things are. I’m Australian, recently 600ml bottle of Coke out of a vending machine costs AUD$4.50!! I was surprised how cheap a taxi was in Korea, or good food, public transport, etc. I feel the only thing expensive about Korea is the airfare to get there. Luckily Seoul has many places to visit that have no, or very little entrance fee. As someone who lives in an overpriced rip off country with little history, my vote is for Korea as a fairly cheap but high reward holiday destination.

I live in South Korea, and I promise you can eat food cheaply here. Kimbap shops are on every corner and have a variety of foods (not just kimbap) usually ranging in price from about 2USD to 6USD. If you’re not familiar with the menu, it can be hard to read, but there are plenty of menu translations available online. While the menus do vary, a lot of them have pretty similar items, so any translation can help. The beer is also very cheap. And if you want to drink on the SUPER cheap, go to the convenient store, grab a beer and pull up a seat outside. That’s totally a thing here. Or try one of the local drinks – soju or makgeolli. They go for about a dollar and half a bottle. Cheers!

Haha we saw a lot of that, people just sitting outside drinking soju. I’m sure there were plenty of cheaper places to eat but we couldn’t tell since everything was in Korean haha. But hey we found all you can eat KOrean bbq for $9-10 a person, that isn’t bad at all!

Sound like South Korea is quite the place to visit. It’s a shame when you fly somewhere and the food is overpriced though…to me this is almost the best part about traveling into a new country. Still, $70 a day is pretty expensive for a budget traveler! lol

P.S.- I wouldn’t be able to get used to the hustle and bustle of city life either; Malaysia is definitely more my speed! 🙂

Will be travelling there during Christmas, I bet it will be much more expensive for me! Heard from many that the food is indeed expensive, I guess I have to set aside most of my budget on this. Where do you suggest to go during Winter? 🙂

Yeah food is a bit expensive! Hmm for winter, Seoul would be as good as place as any since it is the main city. I know there are some ski resorts there too if you’re interested in doing that! Enjoy your trip 🙂

I’ve a friend who is a teacher in south korea, he’s been out there several years now and adores the place- plus in his time off he gets to explore Asia which he loves. it always sucks going over budget but sometimes its a necessary evil!

It’s a great first country in Asia to visit. But trust me when I say after you go to the cheaper countries like Malaysia, Vietnam and Thailand you will be frustrated by how expensive food is in S.Korea. But that’s just how it is! Hope you enjoy your trip there!

Great post! I had the same impressions of South Korea while I was there. I came to South Korea directly from Japan, where I spent 3 months. I got used to calm Japanese people waiting in the line to enter the metro and then I landed in Seoul and nearly died in the metro..
Your budget is really small considering the fact you paid for all of your acommodation. I totally recommend CouchSurfing, I saved a lot using CS.

I’ve heard really wonderful things about Japan! Ugh yeah here in Taiwan people aren’t that rushed either but Korea was a whoooole different story when it came to riding the subway or bus! Sad story, we actually had a CS lined up for Busan but then our host crapped out on us the last minute 🙁 I would have loved to try CS there but guess it wasn’t in the books for us to do it.

I like your thoughts, on your time here! I agree with just about everything you said about Korea…it is definitely not a cheap country compared to other places in Asia, that is for sure! Since I have been living here for about 6 weeks now, I have discovered the cheap places to eat in my neighborhood. Kim bap places are the way to go…two of us eat well for $10, it is awesome!

There’s also a great spa at Incheon Airport, which may be cheaper, but possibly just as comfortable. It was always packed anytime I went through there, so I ended up simply sleeping in the airport. Either way, there are far worse places you could spend some time than one of the largest airports in the world! Did you folks see the skating rink, movie theatre, and everything else?

After reading this, and now that I’m living in Costa Rica, I certainly do miss the public transit and wi-fi of SK! 🙂

We didn’t have a chance to spend time at the airport, I actually really wanted to check out the skating rink! I heard that airport is one of the top best airports in the world, they even have a casino I think! That means I’ll have to go back there. Haha I miss the Wi-fi of SK too. I’m already dreading going back to terrible wifi in Costa Rica lol!

Great article! I like how you give pros AND cons about the experiences and why. Very helpful to someone considering travel there. As usual, you guys do a great job with your blog! I look forward to reading about the next adventure!

Thanks Mari! It’s always nice to hear about the good things of a place but I had to be honest and put in the cons too, just so other people can be aware and get a heads up. Our Malaysia one will be coming soon 🙂

Fun to travel along with you guys– looks like an interesting and fun place to be… even if it’s better kept under 17 days. If you could only do it in one week, where would you go? The beaches looked nice & so did the temples… Which ones would you crunch in?

For one week, you can split it between Seoul and Busan and luckily the KTX makes it easy to get to one to another in just a couple of hours so you won’t waste a lot of travel time. A week is a bit short since you’ll be dealing with jet lag but you can crunch a lot in in one day if you plan it well. We liked Busan much better than Seoul but that’s just us – we liked being near the coast. In Busan, definitely try to stay in the Haeundae beach area, when we went there we kept saying “I wish we were staying here!” I’d say the best things to see are the temples and palaces in both Busan and Seoul and then the beaches in Busan. We weren’t that blown away by the shopping districts in Seoul but it’s fun to walk around and experience it.